E08 - Shwe Wutt Hmon, “Noises Are Quite Loud Here”

Shwe Wutt Hmon (Myanmar/Thailand)
“Noises Are Quite Loud Here” (2023-ongoing)

This project began as a spontaneous response to my transition from urban life, heightening my awareness of nature's subtleties—plants, animals, and landscapes. It also reflects my ongoing exploration of various forms of "NOISE," from the hallucinated sounds I battle to the suffocating



air pollution during Chiang Mai's notorious smog season.

The work consists of a photographic and video installation accompanied by a sonic soundscape, blending analogue photography with scanner-generated images to depict noise's overwhelming presence in the environment. Color and monochrome images, captured through deliberate and unhurried analogue photography, document my daily explorations of Rimbun Dahan, a 14-acre tropical garden near Kuala Lumpur. Scattered flowers, leaves, and deceased insects gathered from the garden are thoughtfully combined with archival materials on environmental degradation and chaotic social noise, adding depth through scanner imagery.

“Noises Are Quite Loud Here” is a personal introspection on how noise intensifies even in seemingly tranquil environments. It contemplates the profound damage humans have inflicted upon nature and questions whether there is still a chance to mend and protect our ecosystem.

Shwe Wutt Hmon
is a photographer and mixed media artist from Myanmar, currently based in Thailand. Shwe’s work focuses on collective histories, familial ties, the knots and threads of human relationships, and exploring the inner psyche through intimate storytelling about people and places dear to her heart. She tells personal stories to connect with and examine broader social aspects; conversely, she works on social documentaries reflecting and drawing from her own position within the context. Shwe uses photography as her main medium and incorporates archives, videos, texts, sounds, poems, paintings, and drawings of her own or in collaboration with others. Shwe’s works have been exhibited in festivals and spaces such as Kochi-Muziris Biennale 2020, Aichi Triennale 2022, Thailand Biennale, Chiang Rai 2023 with 'Zomia Pavilion', Singapore International Photography Festival 2020, Photo Australia International Festival of Photography 2022, ArtScience Museum Singapore, Bangkok Art & Culture Centre, Photoforum Pasquart, and Foam Amsterdam.